What is the SmartWay Program?

SmartWay Program

As the human population continues to grow and globalization becomes more ingrained in countries around the world, one by-product has been a major increase in freight transportation.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), freight activity is expected to double by 2040 from its current levels. By 2050, the emissions from global freight transport will most likely exceed those from passenger vehicles.

Because freight transportation can have harmful effects on the environment and the public, the EPA created and launched the SmartWay program in 2004.

As a voluntary public-private program, here's an overview of the SmartWay program:

The Core Goals of the SmartWay Program

The core goals that the EPA enacted when creating the program are:

• To aid companies in improving the efficiency and environmental sustainability of their supply chain, including choosing freight carriers;
• To support major transportation industry associations, prominent environmental groups, international agencies, the corporate community, and state and local governments;
• To create and provide companies with an in-depth and standard system for the tracking, documenting, and information sharing of emissions and fuel use throughout their supply chains;
• To speed up the adoption and use of fuel-saving technologies to decrease fuel emissions related to freight transportation;
• To help companies adhere to global emissions and environmental standards.

The Three Main Components of the SmartWay Program

The EPA, for strategic purposes, has divided the SmartWay Program into three separate components, which are:

The SmartWay Brand

The EPA has created the SmartWay brand to allow companies to purchase or lease EPA-designated SmartWay tractors and trailers, to place the logo on approved freight vehicles, and to purchase SmartWay Verified Technologies through the Technology Program.

The SmartWay Transport Partnership

The EPA lets companies participate and be a part of the Partnership to aid them in improving their logistics operations and in decreasing their environmental footprint.

For those who wish to be a part of SmartWay, there are three types of SmartWay Partners, which are:

• SmartWay Shippers;
• SmartWay Carriers;
• SmartWay Logistics Companies.

Even if a company doesn't actually ship or transport goods directly, it can still participate in the SmartWay Program by becoming a SmartWay Affiliate. An affiliate helps educate customers and members about the program and encourages them to join.

SmartWay Global Collaboration

Because the SmartWay program is recognized worldwide as one of the best programs for helping companies with sustainable economic development, reduce air pollution, increase competitiveness, reduce costs, and improve freight efficiency, the Global Collaboration is the EPA's way of making the program accessible worldwide.

Companies outside the United States that wish to model their supply chains after the Program can do so through the SmartWay training curriculum.

To find out more information about the SmartWay Program, you can visit https://www.epa.gov/smartway.